U.S. patent number 3,623,598 [Application Number 04/747,133] was granted by the patent office on 1971-11-30 for guiding means for conveying rod-shaped objects and especially cigarettes.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Service D'Exploitation Industrielle Des Tabacs Et Des Allumettes. Invention is credited to Henri Anfossi.
United States Patent |
3,623,598 |
Anfossi |
November 30, 1971 |
GUIDING MEANS FOR CONVEYING ROD-SHAPED OBJECTS AND ESPECIALLY
CIGARETTES
Abstract
A method for ensuring the cohesion of a stream of rod-shaped
objects and especially cigarettes comprising a plurality of
adjacent layers of the said objects and for permitting the
displacement of the said stream by propulsion means which are
adapted to produce action solely on one of the two outer layers
comprising the step of exerting a pressure of fluid on the other
outer layer in the direction of the first of the said layers.
Inventors: |
Anfossi; Henri (Orleans,
Loiret, FR) |
Assignee: |
Service D'Exploitation Industrielle
Des Tabacs Et Des Allumettes (Paris, FR)
|
Family
ID: |
8635727 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/747,133 |
Filed: |
July 24, 1968 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
198/493; 198/604;
198/721 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24C
5/35 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A24C
5/00 (20060101); A24C 5/35 (20060101); B65g
015/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;198/165,102
;302/20,28,29,31,35 ;271/74 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Blunk; Evon C.
Assistant Examiner: Goodman; Alfred N.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. Apparatus for conveying a plurality of piled-up layers of
substantially small, lightweight, rod-shaped articles such as
cigarettes in a stream in a direction transverse to their length,
including:
a. an infeed conveyor on one side of said stream;
b. an outfeed conveyor on the same side of said stream;
c. a stationary hollow casing having an exterior surface facing and
alongside said stream on said one side thereof and extending
between said infeed and outfeed conveyors;
d. a plurality of apertures in said surface along the stream
line;
e. means for applying gas under pressure into said casing and
through said apertures transverse to said stream;
f. belt conveying means spaced from and facing said casing, said
conveying means spanning the gap between the infeed and outfeed
conveyors and in driving contact with one outer layer of said
articles; and
g. said gas impinging on the other outer layer of said articles
forcing the layers toward said conveying means so that the layers
are conveyed past said casing in spaced relation to the surface
thereof by means solely of said belt conveying means.
2. A device according to claim 1, said casing further comprising,
in the upstream edge thereof, a slit disposed for discharging of
said gas therethrough, said discharging blowing in a direction
opposite to the direction of said transport of said articles.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said infeed and outfeed
conveyors are in the same plane.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said casing is of
concave shape and said belt conveying means has a complimentary
curved path and passes over an idler roller.
Description
This invention is concerned with improvements in the guiding means
which are employed when conveying rod-shaped objects such as
cigarettes.
Many of the systems employed for conveying objects of this type
consist of endless belts which are disposed either horizontally, at
an oblique angle, or even vertically. In the case of horizontal
conveyor belts, the objects remain applied against the belts under
the action of their own weight. In the case of inclined or vertical
belts, the objects can be applied against the belts either under
the action of a fluid under pressure exerted in the direction of
the conveyor or by means of a simple clamping action, or
alternatively by making use of bucket carriers. However, in some
zones of the conveying path, the objects cannot be displaced by the
belts; this is the case in particular of curved junctions between
two straight sections which are inclined with respect to each other
or of bridges between two aligned conveyors, for example.
Up to the present time, objects were guided along such zones of the
conveying path by means of fixed plates or shells made of metal,
for example. However, the objects conveyed were liable to incur
damage or even to jam as they passed over the said plates. In the
case of cigarettes which are conveyed transversely to their axes,
the cigarettes were liable to be displaced crosswise and thus to
result in a disordered array or even jamming.
The present invention is intended to overcome this disadvantage.
Accordingly, in order to ensure the cohesion of a stream of
rod-shaped objects and especially cigarettes made up of a plurality
of adjacent layers of the said objects and also in order that the
said stream should be conveyed by propulsion means which act solely
on one of the two outer layers, it is an aim of the invention to
exert a pressure of fluid on the other outer layer in the direction
of the first of the said layers at some points of the conveying
path such as the zones of the type herein above referred to.
In order to carry out the method outlined above, a further aim of
the invention is to provide a device comprising at least one casing
which is supplied with gaseous fluid under pressure and which is
pierced by apertures for directing jets of fluid onto the
oppositely facing layer of objects.
The said casing may be mounted, for example, between two conveyors
with which the said layer of objects is in contact both upstream
and downstream of the casing and can take up substantially the
entire space between the said conveyors so as to form a junction
surface between the surfaces of the said conveyors without any
appreciable break in continuity.
When the propulsion means which act on the layer which is not
subjected to the direct action of the fluid under pressure consist
of an endless belt conveyor, the casing surface which is pierced by
blowing apertures can be geometrically similar to that of the
oppositely facing surface of the carrying run of the said conveyor.
Thus, if the carrying run of the first conveyor passes over an
idler roller, the said casing surface will be concave and if the
conveyor is flat, the said surface will also be flat.
Provision can usefully be made in the upstream edge of the casing
for a slit which is so designed that the fluid discharged through
the said slit is blown in a direction opposite to the direction of
propulsion of objects .
Two examples of application of means according to the invention are
shown without any intended limitation in the accompanying drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a means for guiding
along a curved path, and
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a "bridge" for guiding
between two aligned conveyors.
In the example of FIG. 1, the path followed by the stream of
cigarettes is delimited by the endless belt 1 which is guided at
right angles by the roller 2, by the outfeed endless belt 3 which
passes over the roller 4, by the infeed conveyor belt 5 which
passes over the roller 6 and by a blowing element 7 in accordance
with the invention. Said element 7 is constituted by a casing 8
having a concave wall 9 which is pierced by apertures 10 and inside
which is housed a device 11 for blowing fluid under pressure. The
casing 9 is additionally pierced along its upstream edge by a slit
12 through which a jet 13 is discharged in order to lift the
cigarettes when they reach the extremity of the conveyor 5.
By virtue of the device which has just been described, the
cigarettes are moved away from the wall 9 of the drum 8. The stream
as a whole thus becomes coherent and is readily propelled by the
convex portion of the belt 1 which only acts on the layer of
cigarettes with which it is in contact. The clearance 14 which is
created and remains throughout the duration of the conveying
operation serves in addition to prevent the cigarettes from coming
into contact with a stationary obstacle and from being compressed
against the stationary shell. Consequently, the cigarettes which
are conveyed in the form of a stream are maintained as an integral
mass, even if the cross section of the stream is reduced as a
result of irregularity in the supply, for example. The fact that
the said mass retains its homogeneous structure without any gaps
also prevents the cigarettes which are being conveyed from being
displaced crosswise. This feature presents additional advantages in
the case of objects which are not wholly cylindrical and in the
case of filter-tip cigarettes. The jet 13 which is discharged
through the slit 12 also prevents objects from catching as they
pass from the belt 5 to the guide element 8.
In the example which is illustrated in FIG. 2, the guiding means in
accordance with the invention is interposed between two endless
belt conveyors 15, 16 which are mounted on the rollers 17, 17', 18,
18' and disposed in the line of extension of each other. Above the
said conveyors, an endless belt 19 which is mounted on the rollers
20, 20' delimits with the said conveyors 15, 16 a duct for
conveying cigarettes in bulk.
The element 21 forms a bridge between the infeed and outfeed
conveyors 15, 16, and, as in the example of FIG. 1, is made up of a
casing which is supplied with fluid under pressure and the top face
of which is a plate 22 pierced by apertures 23. The apertures 23
have different orientations: those which are located at the
upstream end are directed opposite to the direction of propulsion
of the cigarettes whereas those which are located at the downstream
end are inflected in the direction of propulsion in order to assist
the latter process. These apertures 23 are oriented in such a
manner that the jet of fluid is inflected in the direction of
propulsion. A slit 24 is formed at the upstream edge of the element
21.
As in the previous embodiment, the bottom layer of cigarettes is
lifted under the action of the fluid under pressure which is
discharged through the apertures 23 and 24 and the mass of
cigarettes which is applied in a coherent manner against the belt
19 passes over the bridge between the conveyors 15 and 16 without
frictional contact, with the result that there is no danger of
either damage or disordered array.
* * * * *